A study explored the beliefs, self-reported practices, and professional development needs of three classroom teachers (grades 4, 5, and 10) with language-minority students. A case history of each teacher was developed from interviews, classroom observations, and entries from teacher journals. Analysis revealed that (1) the teachers' beliefs about language-minority students and their programs may be based on hearsay and misinformation; (2) the teachers do not vary their planning for this population, but frequently vary lesson implementation; (3) selection of instructional practices may be based on naive notions of language proficiency and the demands of the mainstream classroom; and (4) the teachers draw on intuitive wisdom because of lack of preservice education or staff development regarding language-minority students. Based on these findings, it is recommended that: preservice teacher education curricula be designed in a way that integrates the social, political, and cultural realities of a multicultural student population; staff development be specific to the local context; teachers collaborate with other teachers, parents, and administrators about the education of language-minority students; and more research be conducted on teacher beliefs and behavior, innovative preservice teacher education, and inservice staff development models regarding language-minority issues. (MSE)